


Deflecting Damage

by Obsessivecompulsivereadr



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bad Parent Maryse Lightwood, Established Relationship, M/M, References to Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 20:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9341984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obsessivecompulsivereadr/pseuds/Obsessivecompulsivereadr
Summary: “Why is this so important to you?” Alec’s voice bit into him, signaling that this discussion was touching a nerve for him.  Which meant that it was a conversation to be had and not forgotten.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have an explanation about how much I don't know about the runes at the end of the fic since it's somewhat spoiler related.

From where Magnus sat on his bed, he could see Alec’s face in the bathroom mirror.  He was preparing for his work day and was just a portal away from yet another interaction with his parents at the Institute.  Maryse and Robert Lightwood had arrived yet again upset with something that had happened, and they were undoubtedly waiting to harangue Alec as somehow responsible for it.  Yes, Alec was currently heading up the Institute now that Valentine was defeated and the Clave had withdrawn back to Idris, but that didn’t mean he could control everyone.  

Alec had never been able to control Jace, and Magnus would bet his first edition copy of  _ The Book of Wealth _ that Jace was the one responsible for whatever trouble Alec was about to get blamed for.  Jace’s impulsive behavior was often blamed on Alec, and the man’s level of patience never ceased to impress Magnus.  

He would have snapped long ago and done something undoubtedly against the Accords if he’d had to deal with Maryse Lightwood as much as Alec did.  

Magnus watched as Alec took out his stele and tilted his head as if he were shaving.  Alec waved the stele over his deflect rune, and hissed softly at the pain it must cause.  The rune settled into its usual black coloring before Alec stowed his stele and braced his hands on the sink in front of him.

Magnus knew that face.  He was steeling himself for battle.  

He rose and walked into the bathroom, his hand tracing across Alec’s back in support, “Are you alright?”  

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alec said as he continued to stare into the mirror.  

“Anything I can do to help?” Magnus continued as he leaned against the bathroom sink.  “I have disgusting potions designed for many different kinds of horrendous people, portals to nowhere that could mysteriously vanish without a trace after use, a fire-breathing snake…” 

Alec grabbed his hand and laughed softly, “That’s okay.  I’ll be fine.”  

Magnus traced the deflect rune with his finger, and Alec closed his eyes in response.  Alec loved it when Magnus did this, paid special attention to his runes, but Magnus wasn’t sure if it was because the skin was especially sensitive or if the action just aroused Alec.  It didn’t really matter in the long run. Whatever caused it, Alec would usually end up kissing him and really...they both won in any scenario where that happened. 

“Tell me more about this one,” Magnus said softly.  

Alec talked about his runes often and explained the ones that Magnus wasn’t familiar with.  After all the centuries of his exposure to shadowhunters, Magnus had learned quite a bit about runes.  

But from everything he’d been told, the deflect rune wasn’t reliable.  It had to be refreshed often, and it wasn’t practical in the middle of battle.  It was best used on structures to defend them from incoming damage.  But obviously it had its uses if Alec refreshed it so frequently.  Runes that were newly applied or refreshed stayed the inky black color for a while, and Magnus could not remember a time when Alec’s deflect rune wasn’t black.  

“Why?” Alec asked as he turned his head to look at Magnus.  

His eyes were soft but unnerving.  As if he was afraid.  Magnus couldn’t stand that look in his eyes, “Because if you need this rune right now, then I’d like to know why.”  

Alec leaned over and kissed him.  “I’m fine.  I refresh it all the time.  I’m so used to doing it that I never actually stop to think if it’s one I’m going to need.” 

“That sounds like a deflection itself,” Magnus replied.  “And I know that this kind of deflection isn’t what that rune is for.  I watched you refresh that, and it wasn’t out of habit.  This was on purpose.”  

Alec smiled wryly, “Why are you so perceptive?  It’s honestly a little irritating.”  

Magnus reached out brushed his knuckles over Alec’s cheek, “You’ll get used to it.”  

Alec took his hand and squeezed it, “It’s just a rune.  An everyday thing.  I’ll stop refreshing it if it makes you uncomfortable.”  

“It doesn’t.  I’m concerned.  And I want to know more about the rune.  What I do know about it might be inaccurate.”  

Alec turned to face him and leaned his right hip on the counter, “So tell me what  _ you _ know.”  

“That it’s an easy rune to cast but it’s not reliable because it has to be cast too often.  It’s for deflecting damage, and it’s most often used on buildings that need to be protected.”  

“That’s pretty close,” Alec admitted with a twist of a smile.

“What did I get wrong?”  

“The rune is specifically for oncoming  _ blows _ .  Not damage, but there’s no reason you can’t interpret it that way.  It’s close enough to the truth.”  

“So if it’s for oncoming blows, then why don’t they recommend it be used in battle?”  

“Because it’s impractical to constantly have your stele out when you’re actually in hand to hand combat.  It could get knocked out of your hand or you could accidentally activate a rune you don’t want to activate at that moment.  So you activate them going in and then depend on your Seraph blade, staff, or bow... or whip in Izzy’s case.”  

“So if it’s so impractical, then why do you refresh it so often?  I know you do.  This isn’t the first time I’ve seen you do it, and this rune,” Magnus ran a finger across it again, “is nearly always black.  Which means you do it all the time.”  

“Why is this so important to you?” Alec’s voice bit into him, signaling that this discussion was touching a nerve for him.  Which meant that it was a conversation to be had and not forgotten.  

“Why is it so important for you  _ not  _ to tell me?” Magnus replied.

Alec looked back towards the mirror and drew in a breath, “Because it’s not just for physical blows.”  

If it was not just for physical blows, that meant it was for verbal and emotional blows as well.  And Magnus’s stomach lurched at the thought.  

“Oh, Alexander.”  

He turned to look at Magnus again.  “I’ve been using it a long time, you know?  I put it on my neck so that they could see it.  Every time a new training regimen was designed to  _ show me who’s in charge _ .  Every time I got out of line and had to be shown  _ the error of my ways _ .  Every time I had to fight people four or five years older than me in order to  _ prove my worth as a soldier _ .”  Alec’s voice had taken on the cadence of Maryse Lightwood as he spoke the last few words.  

Magnus closed his eyes to prevent tears from falling.  He leaned in and wrapped his arms around Alec’s waist and rested his head on Alec’s shoulder, right where the rune in question decorated his beautiful neck.  He was just always so angry at how much Alec had endured.  And how much anyone in that family had watched him endure without a word spoken in his defense.  

“It’s okay, Magnus.”  Alec held him close and brushed a kiss across his forehead.

“No, it isn’t.”  

“She was so mad the first time she saw it.  I almost laughed, really.  I trained with Jace a lot when we were younger, so I didn’t really need it.  Jace and I were equals and very rarely ever hurt each other.  But anytime I got out of line, I had to fight kids who were much bigger and had been through so much more training than I had.  But it wasn’t until I broke a kid’s arm that my mother told me she was proud.  Any other time, I was just weak.  Useless I guess, unless I was good at being a soldier.”   

“You’re not weak.  Or useless.” 

“I know that now.  But then?  I needed the extra protection then.  It sounds silly now, but I believed it would work even though the rune was designed for battle.  In some ways I still do believe in it.  And maybe that's why it did work.  Maybe it’s psychological.  Maybe I don’t feel the words hit as hard when I use it because I just  _ believe _ that the rune will deflect them.  I don’t know.  But it worked when I was younger.  One of the older fighters showed it to me, said he got tired of kicking my ass all the time and wanted me to have a fighting chance.” 

“Is he still around so we can send him something very expensive?”  Magnus pulled back slightly to look into his eyes.

Alec laughed, “He’s back in Idris, as far as I know.  Jace was so jealous because I got to use it and he didn’t.”  

“He never was one for seeing the bigger picture, was he?”  

It wouldn’t have even occurred to Jace that Alec needing it would be a bad thing.  Not with the favoritism he’d been shown by Maryse while the two were growing up.

Alec squeezed Magnus’s hand, “I’m okay.  Just because I’m using it today doesn’t mean I’m  _ not _ okay.”  

“I understand now.  I won’t question it anymore.  But don’t be surprised if you find yourself the recipient of some extra care when I’ve had to watch you refresh that, now that I know why.”  

“It’s not like your extra care is a hardship.  I can live with that.”  

“And don’t be surprised if your mother receives a _nice_ gift that can’t be traced back to me,” Magnus said as he walked back into the bedroom.  

“Send her the snake,” Alec called from the bathroom.  

“I could never do that to my baby. And it would be too easy for her to figure out it came from me.”  

“Then I’ve got nothing,” Alec replied with a laugh as he came out of the bathroom. 

Magnus waved his hand and the familiar purple doorway appeared.  “I’ve got your portal up,” Magnus said.  “Whenever you’re ready.”  

“Thanks,” Alec stopped to kiss him and then walked over to the portal.  “Wish me luck.”  

“Call me if you need warlock back up.”  

“I will,” Alec said as he walked backwards toward the portal, “I love you.”  

“I love you too.”  

Alec disappeared on his way to the Institute, and Magnus sat back down on the bed. 

He would need to do some research into this.  Up until now, he’d stayed out of Maryse Lightwood’s way because he’d assumed the fall-out against Alec would be too great.  But there was no way he was going to allow that woman to continuously hurt the man he loved anymore.  

She was going to step out of line, and not even the Clave would be able to protect her.  

Then she’d learn exactly what the High Warlock of Brooklyn was capable of when it came to protecting the people he loved.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that this probably isn't going to be accurate to the books, because I haven't read them. What little bit I do know about the runes comes from the show and the shadowhunters wiki entry for the deflect rune and the entry on runes themselves. This plot bunny came from me reading up on both because I wanted to know what that rune did for Alec - and then from comparing the entry on runes being black when they're refreshed and the way Alec's rune is always black. It seemed weird to me that the wiki entry would state that the rune wasn't reliable and would be used on structures. (The website that the entry came from was taken down so I couldn't get additional info on it). I just kind of ran from there because I got a horrible headcanon about why he'd need that rune and since it made me sad, I felt like it should make others sad as well (specifically Anna, sorry Anna!). 
> 
> I also don't have any clue if this is a common headcanon because I haven't been watching the show for long or engaged in the fandom for long. Since I've read only a few show specific fics, and very few fics that are specifically associated with the books, I have no idea if I'm replicating anyone else's plot bunny. If I have, I apologize.


End file.
